One of the beautiful alternatives to a standard, water-thirsty, solid green, mowed Kentucky Bluegrass lawn is a naturalistic meadow composed of low-water clumping grasses and wildflowers.
This approach offers plant diversity, an ever-changing, dynamic sequence of colors and textures throughout the seasons, and provides sustenance and habitat for beneficial insects, pollinators, birds and other small critters. If this sounds good to you, now is the time to plan and prepare, and buy grass seed mixes on sale for 15% off! We also have lots of wildflower seeds to add to the grasses – mixes for specific pollinators and situations, as well as individual species.
Jim Borland
Colorado plantsman Jim Borland wrote an excellent article for the Colorado Native Plant Society’s ‘Aquilegia’ magazine this spring, called ‘What to Know Before You Grow’, which we will use as a resource here.
Borland states “A good picture of the realities involved includes almost exactly the same considerations one would expect when establishing (lawn) grass from seed. Ultimate results will depend largely upon whether or not the site will be irrigated. Without irrigation, fewer seeds will germinate; establishment, growth and cover will be slower; and the ability of an individual species to reseed will be greatly diminished.”
Sorghastrum nutans, Indian Rice Grass
“Few wildflowers are able to compete, especially when young, with the commonly-used turfgrasses. Bunchgrasses (clumping, rather than spreading), such as native fescues, or Indian Rice grass, sideoats grama, little bluestem and blue grama are (some of the) preferred types.”
“Seed bed and sowing preparation of the wildflower site are essentially the same as those followed for preparing a site for grass. This includes any of the common practices of disking, plowing, or rototilling to a depth of three to eight inches. Any means (of sowing) that will ensure good seed-to-soil contact and cover can be employed. This includes broadcasting with a drop or cyclone spreader followed by a light hand-raking or mechanical harrowing.”
“Late fall or very early spring sowing is recommended to take advantage of greater precipitation … in those seasons. Make fall sowings late enough so that cold soil temperatures will discourage immediate germination and subsequent death to fragile seedlings due to freezing temperatures. Spring sowings should be made early enough to take advantage of spring rains and provide enough time for at least the annual species to establish and bloom.”
Your soil is likely to contain weed seeds, anywhere from 3 to 75 seeds per square foot “with some remaining viable for as long as 1,700 years,” according to Borland. 99% of these are in the top 4”. Expect to do some weeding, more in the first year, and less in subsequent years as your meadow establishes. Advance preparation, including covering your soil with newspaper or cardboard, can suppress weeds. Look for our class on ‘Converting a Lawn into a Garden’ on our class schedule in late winter/early spring.
“After germination of the wildflower seeds, controls include spot-spraying with (non-toxic) herbicide, hand-pulling, or cutting.” The biggest challenge of these measures is correctly identifying the target and non-target species. “Learn to distinguish seedlings, especially the desired annuals and biennials.” Borland is referring to wildflower seedlings here.
“Supplemental irrigation for germination and establishment will ensure a better stand than reliance on natural precipitation in almost all cases. Sufficient water should be continually applied to keep the site moist throughout the germination period and for some time afterward for seedling establishment, followed by a gradual reduction of irrigation frequency.”
See some of our custom seed mixes from Pawnee Buttes Seeds here.
NOTE: We recently received the very sad news that Jim Borland passed away in late July, about a month after we last visited him. We were friends, and we have great appreciation for his vast knowledge of native plants and other plants that thrive with in our challenging Colorado conditions. He was constantly exploring, studying and experimenting with plants, and he freely shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. We will miss him. To find out more about Jim, see his obituary here.
Autumn Grasses